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Asha Seth

Award-winning Indian Blogger

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  • Who is She?
    • Author Profile
    • Services Offered
  • Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Book Recommendations
    • Book Excerpts
  • Poetry
    • English Poetry
    • Hindi Poetry
    • MicroPoetry
  • Writing
    • Blogging Tips
    • Short Stories
    • Writing Inspiration
  • Musings
    • Festive Feelers
    • Tender Tidings
    • Memoirs
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By: Asha Seth Jan 7, 2021Jan 11, 2021
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Breaking Free: Book Review by Asha Seth

Author: Mohua Maulik | Genre: Short Stories | Pages: 264 | Publisher: Buuks

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Breaking Free: A Novella & Other Stories is a collection of forty micro-fiction and short stories, portraying different aspects of life crafted from everyday happenings. Breaking Free dives into the depths of a patriarchal society that turns a blind eye to sexism that is all pervasive. A disillusioned and embittered protagonist meets a determined suitor. Can he accept her reality? Can she break free and come into her own?

Vacations are on everyone’s bucket list but they often don’t turn out quite as one expects. This theme is explored in a few shorts – Holidays! The Perfect Getaway, The Last Fling and The Vacation. Other shorts – The Murderer, Yesterday Once More, Of Men and Monsters, Brothers in Arms – explore the theme of love and betrayal, be it lovers, parents or siblings. My Prickly Pear is the story of a mother’s tussle between her children and her dreams. Now that they are grown up, can she fly the nest? The Scent of Love is an office romance between an unlikely pair, the quintessential office babu, Dayaram, and the soon-to-be married Bela. Unversed in matters of the heart, he watches in helpless despair as her marriage is fixed. Will Bela be able to shake him out of his stupor or will he let her go? These stories, on characters that are drawn from life, will make you gasp, warm your heart or just make you laugh out loud. 

Click on image to buy ‘Breaking Free: A Novella & Other Stories’

Breaking Free: A Novella & Other Stories came as a sweet surprise because I didn’t expect it to be so impactful, right from the word go. Having read ample number of short stories and my staunch love for them hardly have me going for modern works of short-story writing, because they fail terribly, at invoking anything within the reader. But the stories in Breaking Free pulled me in and had me turning pages before I knew. One, because the stories are flash fiction. Two, because the crisp tales in here are power-packed and determined to shift your mindset from the stereotypical to the more rational. These stories tug at your heart with the platter of emotions they serve, and just how!

All the tales highlight real-life conundrums, societal taboos, inner struggles, desperate attempts at freedom, and many such facets that change individuals when in the grasp of them. The author’s attempt at bringing to life that which seems wiped out from our modern societies still dwells predominantly, under the many layers of the human conscience, like the drapes of a saree, and comes to the fore challenging dreams, ambitions, courage and patience, every now and then. These are so mainstream that relating to the situations is not only promised, but also transforming. The fictionalized realities are introspective in nature, and all the tales have a very strong voice and way of doing it.

One story that stayed with me was: The Murderer, in which a woman is dead, and the family reveals the real murderer; who failed to accept the woman’s plight. It is one of the most hard-hitting facts; one that is so easily ignored in our society, and highlights how women are expected to live so as to honour the family name.

Review also available on: Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

Written in a captivating style that offers the reader a crisp and thought-provoking prose, I felt this is a commendable piece of work to explore; something that doesn’t demand too much time or reading energy, and yet keeps you hooked and moved. Read Breaking Free: A Novella & Other Stories by Author Mohua Maulik to experience a fresh, modern-day wave of contemporary story-telling. Followers of Terribly Tiny Tales will love this collection!

Have you read ‘Breaking Free: A Novella & Other Stories’? Do share your thoughts in the comments below.

P.S: I received a review copy from the author but the review remains unbiased.

Happy reading till we meet next. Until then, carpe diem! 

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Book Reviewsaward winning indian book blogs, best indian book bloggers, best indian book blogs, best short stories of the world, book bloggers of india, book bloggers on instagram, book bloggers on twitter, book bloggers on wordpress, book blogs of india, book blogs on wordpress, book review blogs, Book reviewers on wordpress, breaking free short stories, indian book bloggers, indian book blogs, Indian Literature, Short Stories, short story authors, Short story writers, short story writers in india, short story writers on wordpress, top book blogs india, top indian book bloggers, top indian book blogs, Wordpress book bloggers, wordpress book blogs
Posted by:Asha Seth

An award-winning book blogger, a copywriter by profession, and a story-teller at heart, Asha is a born reveur. A rebel seeking refuge in the confines of worlds created by words. She reads, writes, reviews, and when not doing these, loves to loiter in dusty old bookshops. Literary Influencers: Tolstoy, Bukowski, Lahiri, Maurier.

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4 replies to Breaking Free: Book Review by Asha Seth
  1. Ste J says:
    Jan 13, 2021 at 5:13 pm

    I can see your blog is going to be costing me a lot of money in compelling books this year. This pleases me. Keep up the great writing.

    LikeLike

    Reply
  2. Dahlia says:
    Jan 8, 2021 at 9:18 am

    Reblogged this on Stories and more.

    LikeLike

    Reply
  3. Dahlia says:
    Jan 8, 2021 at 9:14 am

    Thanks Asha for the awesome review. Sharing on my blog too!

    LikeLike

    Reply
  4. Govardhan says:
    Jan 7, 2021 at 9:47 pm

    Reblogged this on Vijayagiri views.

    LikeLike

    Reply

“I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.” ― James A. Michener Cancel reply

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An award-winning book blogger, a copywriter by profession, and a story-teller at heart, Asha is a born reveur. Notoriously renowned as the 'BadBookthief', she loves books, dogs, and wine. Welcome to her inspiring world of Writing, Poetry, Books, Travels, and more.

DM for Collaborations on badbookthief@gmail.com

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